Rock 'n' Roll History for
March 17


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1956 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
The movie Rock Around The Clock premieres in Washington, DC. The film features performances by Bill Haley, The Platters and Little Richard.

March 17
Carl Perkins appears on ABC-TV's Ozark Jamboree, where he performs "Blue Suede Shoes" and its flip side, "Honey Don't". His band consisted of his brothers Jay on acoustic guitar and backing vocals and Clayton on stand-up bass, along with W. S. Holland on drums.

1958 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
The Coasters record what will prove to be their only US number one hit, "Yakety Yak". In the UK, it reached #12.

March 17
Starting out as the "B" side of a single called "Train To Nowhere", The Champs' "Tequila" had gained enough attention from radio disc jockeys to rise to the top spot on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts as well as the Cashbox Best Sellers list. It was also a #5 hit in the UK.

March 17
Columbia Records releases the Johnny Mathis LP, "Johnny's Greatest Hits". One month later, the album would top the Billboard chart for three weeks. Over a ten year period, it would appear on that list for 490 non-consecutive weeks, a record it held until Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" supplanted it on October 29th, 1983. Platinum certification for reaching sales of one million copies was awarded by the RIAA on November 1st, 1999.

1962 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
The Shadows started an eight week run at the top of the UK chart with "Wonderful Land". It was not a hit in America.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
The Who's drummer Keith Moon marries his pregnant girlfriend, Kim Kerrigan at the Brent Registry Office in Wembley, England. After enduring a tumultuous marriage, Kim would leave Keith in 1973, taking their daughter Mandy with her. They were divorced in 1975 and she would wed keyboard player Ian McLagan of The Small Faces in October, 1978, one month after Moon's death.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Track Records releases Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" in the UK. The song would reach #3 in Great Britain, but stalled at #65 on America's Hot 100 after being issued the following June. Despite the poor chart performance in the US, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at #2 on their list of The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.

March 17
Bobby Vee records "Come Back When You Grow Up", which will reach number 3 on the Billboard Pop chart next September, becoming the 12th of his 14 Top 40 hits.

1968 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
The Bee Gees make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing "Words" and "To Love Somebody".

1970 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Eddie Holman received a Gold record for the single, "Hey There Lonely Girl", originally recorded by Ruby And The Romantics under the title, "Hey There Lonely Boy" in 1963.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
"I'm Just A Singer In A Rock And Roll Band" by The Moody Blues peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. In their native UK, the song did not do nearly as well, only climbing to #36. It was also the final single released by the band prior to their five-year hiatus, which was agreed upon so each of the band members could pursue solo careers. Their next single, "Steppin' in a Slide Zone", would not be issued until 1978, when it peaked at a disappointing #39 in America.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Cher appears on the cover of Time magazine, wearing a nearly see-through outfit.

1978 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
American Hot Wax, a fictionalized movie account of the early days of Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, premieres in the US. The film featured performances by Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Ford and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

March 17
Four Irish, high school teens who call themselves U2, win the top prize of £500 ($1,000) in the Limerick Civic Week Pop '78 Competition, sponsored by The Evening Express and Guinness Harp Lager. They also won a chance to audition for CBS Ireland next June.

March 17
Jimmy Buffet releases his eighth studio album, "Son of a Son of a Sailor". The LP would reach #10 on the Billboard 200 album chart and #6 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Two singles would register on the Billboard Hot 100, "Cheeseburger in Paradise" (#32) and "Livingston Saturday Night" (#52). The LP would go on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Samuel George Jr., lead singer of the Capitols, who had a 1966, US #7 hit with "Cool Jerk", died in Detroit after being stabbed with knife during a family argument. He was 39 years old.

1984 - ClassicBands.com

February 25
Van Halen's LP "1984" rises to #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, held out of the top spot by Michael Jackson's "Thriller", on which guitarist Eddie Van Halen made a guest performance.

1990 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Rick Grech, former bassist for Blind Faith, died from liver failure at the age of 44. He had retired from the music business in 1977.

March 17
Hall And Oates, Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick and Barry Manilow take part in Arista Records' 15th anniversary concert where they raise over $2 million for various AIDS organizations.

1996 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Terry Stafford, whose Elvis sound-a-like voice helped make the song "Suspicion" a million selling, Billboard #3 hit in 1964, died of liver failure at the age of 54.

2004 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
The Kinks' Ray Davies received a CBE medal (Commander of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry. The CBE is considered to be one level below knighthood.

2006 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Michael Jackson closed the house on his Neverland Ranch in California and laid off a handful of employees, although some workers remained to maintain the rest of the property.

March 17
Former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant was presented with a lifetime achievement Grammy Award at the South by Southwest music festival and conference in Austin, Texas.

2008 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Ola Brunkert, the drummer for ABBA on all of their albums, died after he hit his head against a glass door in his dining room, shattering the glass and cutting himself in the neck. He managed to wrap himself with a towel around but collapsed before reaching help. He was 62.

March 17
40-year-old Heather Mills is awarded £23.7 million (about $47 million US) in her divorce settlement from 65-year-old Paul McCartney. The amount was substantially more than Paul offered, but also a fraction of what she was seeking. The court also ruled that the couple's 4-year-old daughter Beatrice should receive $70,000 per annum. On top of that, McCartney had to pay for the child's nanny and school fees.

2009 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Lynyrd Skynyrd announced that they had signed a new deal with Roadrunner Records and were working on their first album in six years. The LP, titled "God and Guns", would be released on September 29th. The LP would peak at #18 on the Billboard 200 chart, the band's highest-charting studio album since 1977's "Street Survivors".

2010 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Alex Chilton, the lead singer for The Box Tops on their Billboard Top Ten hits "The Letter" (#1 in 1967) and "Cry Like A Baby" (#2 in 1968), died following a heart attack. He was 59.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Ferlin Husky, a Country-music entertainer who reached the Billboard Top 40 twice with "Gone" (#4 in 1957) and "Wings of a Dove" (#12 in 1960), died of heart related problems at the age of 85.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

March 17
Barry Manilow's management launched a lawsuit that claimed Princess Cruises repeatedly used a film of the entertainer's Vegas show without permission. Stiletto Entertainment, which manages Manilow's affairs, requested statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each instance of direct and contributory copyright infringement, punitive damages, restitution, attorneys fees and additional damages.



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